1. Field
The present disclosure is directed to a method for assembling a portable device configured with an energy storage device.
2. Introduction
Currently on most electronic products and accessories with embedded batteries, there is a parasitic load applied by the device circuitry. This is a very small current that the circuitry consumes while the product's on-off switch is in the “off” mode. To minimize the risk of an energy storage device such as a battery being “unchargeable” or causing a “dead” product, after a certain period of time (such as a few hundred days), the parasitic load needs to be removed.
The idea of using a “thin material to prevent a battery connection until the product is first used by a consumer” is not new. Typically this is done by placing part of a removable label between a battery and a spring terminal inside a product. This is often done in smoke detectors.
What is needed is a method to assemble a portable device with an energy storage device that provides a multi-mode switch that provides a temporarily closed position for testing and temporarily open for shipping, based on a position of a pull tab, and a permanently closed position when the pull tab is removed. In more detail, the pull tab needs to extend outside the product's housing, so that a user can pull the tab completely out to close the switch when the product is first used. What is needed is a via in the pull tab to allow a manufacturer or assembler to test completed or sealed units in the factory before shipping. Next. the manufacturer can adjust the pull tab forward to “open” the switch circuit prior to shipping to the customer. The open position prevents battery connection until the product is first used by the consumer.
What is needed is a method of assembling a portable device with energy storage device that allows for testing, calibrating and loading for example before shipment to a customer and minimizes the possibility of embedded-battery products reaching consumers in an “unchargeable” or “permanently dead” state, if left on a shelf or in a warehouse for a certain amount of time.
Thus, there is a need for a method for prolonging the useful shelf life of an energy storage device in a portable device.